To Sashi's Dismay
by mckee11223
Summary: Oh no. The fateful day when all revolves around Sashi. To be a total girly girl in a beauty pageant. Look out, 'cause this girl's kicking up a storm!/A duo mission goes wrong quickly without their sidekick.
1. The Pageant

"So, Phyllis, where are we zapping today?" Penn asks, striding into the cinema. Boone and Sashi follow behind him, chatting aimlessly.

"You von't like this," Phyllis warns as they stand on the teleportation pad.

"What do you mean? I like anything that I can lay a fist on." Sashi pumps the air with her fist, and nearly takes off Boone's head.

"Hey, hey, hey! I want to live at least until _during _the mission!"

"Ok. Good luck, and don't say I didn't varn you!" Phyllis pulls the switch.

…..…..…..…..

Penn takes a look around. A runway. A crowd. He looks down at himself.

"What! I'm a janitor?!" He was wearing a janitor's uniform, and carrying a mop. It was dripping water on his shoe. He shook it off, and looked around for his friends. "Boone! Sashi!"

"Here I am!" Boone says. He pops out of the crowd. His hair was bright pink, and he was wearing shades. He wore a bright blue suit with sequins, and he was carrying a camera. "I'm a reporter."

"For what?" Penn asks, and looks up at the stage. "Ahhhhhh… Boone? Did you find Sashi yet?" He asks shakily.

"No. Wha do ya nee her foe?" He was stuffing his face with something. Then he looked where Penn was looking.

Sashi wore a bright red dress with sequins. Her wavy brown hair was long and luxurious. She wore high heels and makeup.

"Wow. Is that Sashi?" Boone asks, swallowing. Penn was still staring at the stage.

"I said, is that Sashi!" He yelled in Penn's ear. Penn stuck his mop in Boone's face, and returned to staring at Sashi.

"And now, welcome our last contestant in the annual Pretty Face Pageant, Olivia Xu." The audience applauded, and Sashi bowed, looking slightly confused. A pair of small pink glasses perches on her nose. Rushing backstage as soon as the music stopped, Boone and Penn encountered a very angry Sashi.

"What gives? What pageant? What. Is. Wrong. With. This. Mission?!" She nearly screamed in their faces. A knocking on the door made her jump, but she threw a mirror at it, and the knocking seized. The mirror crashed and splintered into dozens of pieces.

"Just check the specs, Sash. I'm sure you'll get to kick something." Peen rolled his eyes as he said this.

She groped around for the edge of the glasses, which finally came to rest on the edge of the small frame. "Ugh. I can barely see out of these. Ok. An evil tech mogul has created a robot girl that is charged on praise and applause. If he can charge it, he can use it to take over the world. Our mission is to make sure that it doesn't win this beauty pageant and save the world." The images came to an end, and they stared dumbfounded at Sashi.

"A beauty pageant?" Boone finally exclaimed, throwing up his arms and nearly dropping his camera. "Sashi?" He burst out laughing, but stops when no one else laughs. Penn and Sashi were standing still, and Sashi's mouth was hanging open.

After a minute, she finally closed her mouth. "A mission that we can't win," She said quietly.

Boone laughed loudly. "Don't be ridiculous. We can win this, right Penn?" He poked Penn in the arm, but he still didn't answer. "Penn? Penn? Penn? Penn? Penn?" He began saying Penn's name over and over again, still poking his arm.

"Shut up, will you!" Sashi cried out in frustration. She tried to kick Boone, but tripped on the hem of her dress and sprawled onto the floor.

"Will all contestants please prepare for the talent portion of the pageant, please." A female's voice boomed on the PA.

"Talent? What talent?" Boone was still talking nonstop.

"Karate. Right, Sashi?"Penn finally said. "Karate. And I know the perfect dummy."


	2. The Beginning

Penn was standing in the audience this time, watching the stage happily. Sashi seemed well in her element, having "borrowed" a karate uniform and black belt from a different room. As soon as she took them off, she snapped the heels off her shoes. She was wearing sneakers now, and was totally pummeling Boone. He was like a human punching bag.

"Oof!" He shouted again, louder than needed for emphasis. He curled into a ball to defend against another kick. Instead, Sashi bowed and helped Boone to his feet. Surprisingly, he looked fine after being beat around like a human piñata.

"Thank you!" She declared, "And thank you to my partner, too!" The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, and the blond cheerleader robot was fuming backstage. Steam shot out of her ears and nostrils, and her hands were clenched. Her coloring looked more red than usual.

Backstage, Sashi and Boone took an exaggerated bow. Penn clapped. "You guys were great."

"Thanks. I finally got to hurt something!" Sashi pumped the air with her fist.

Boone smiled. "Glad to be of service. Now, does anyone know where the snack machine is?"

While Boone went looking for a vending machine, Penn and Sashi discussed their next move.

"Okay. So, this girl, Olivia Xu, was frozen onstage when I took over her. The janitor you're in had a mild heart attack. That reporter Boone got was just about to faint." Sashi reported.

Penn threw his arms up. "So we got a confidence-lacking girl to enter."

Sashi punched him on the arm. "No, you have me."

Penn shook his head. "Sashi, are you sure you can do this? You could just go destroy the robot."

"Penn, sometimes, heroes have to do things that they don't want to do. But they shouldn't take the easy way out just to win, and sometimes lose. I have to do this mission till the end." She put on a stern face, and clutched her fist to her heart. Penn nodded.

"Alright. Let's do this!" He pumped his fist in the air and jumped up. "Umm… What's the next event?"

…

"The beauty round. Seriously. This contest is one hundred percent demeaning to girls!" Sashi shouted over the roar of the hair dryer. Boone put his finger to his lips and kept on blowing.

"Sashi, in order to win, you must be born pretty." He put down the hair dryer and put his fingers in the shape of a square. "Well, you've got that down. Now we just have to work on your clothes…"

She looked down at the red dress. "What's wrong with this?"

Boone tisked. "It's overstating your natural light. We need something that enhances and strengthens your beauty."

Penn leaned over to Sashi's ear. "He's the wise man. Just go with it," he stage whispered. Boone shot him an annoyed look.

"I'm not only a wise man! I am," He paused for dramatic effect, "An artiste!"

"That's feminine," Sashi pointed out.

"Artist! Now would somebody take Sashi out shopping?"

He looked pointedly at Penn. "Can't she do it herself?" He sighed. Boone poked a thumb over at Sashi, who was currently sharpening the end of a comb. "Obviously not."

…

"Come on, Penn! We're done! Grab a random outfit and get out of here!" Sashi was seriously annoyed after trying on the millionth dress. "We're done!" Penn was staring at her, a grin on his face. She snapped her fingers. "Penn?"

"Sashi, look in the mirror," He said, and turned her around.

Apparently she looks good in green, because the current dress was fitting her quite well. It was tighter at the waist and trailed green silk down to the floor. "Hmm. How am I supposed to fight in this?" She asked, absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair.

"You don't." The cashier walked over to her. As she turned around to look, she gasped.

"Phyllis? What are you doing here?" Penn asked before she could. Phyllis rolled her eyes at them.

"I beamed myself in to world. Had to help Sashi."

"I don't need help," She objected indignantly.

"Where your money, then?" She asks, pointing to the cash register. "You need my help. I pay. You win. Don't let Rippen win."

"Got it," Penn said, and dragged Sashi out of the store. "Come on! The contest starts in an hour!"

…

Sashi was backstage now, Boone preening over his new creation. He'd added makeup and styled her hair, and she was getting really impatient. When Olivia's name was called, she finally walked out onto the runway.

She tried to smile and wave at everyone, but bright lights were blinding her. She glanced back and saw Penn and Boone behind her, and kept walking forward.

Then, she stumbled on her heels. There was an audible gasp from the crowd, and Sashi's hand flew up to her mouth. This could cost her the competition!

She saw the judges scribbling furiously on their clipboards, and gulped. Shaken, she finished her walk and quickly went back in. The robot was strutting out onto the stage now, waving like the Queen of England. Sashi groaned as she threw herself down on a chair. Penn and Boone were at her side in an instant.

"It's fine, Sash," Penn said nervously. "We won't lose. And if we lose, at least you'll get to attack her."

Sashi nodded glumly. Great. Another one of her mistakes just might cost them the mission.


	3. The Enemy

"Well, well, well." Rippen slowly walked in from the open door, slow clapping. He was dressed pretty normally, but was wearing an apron with an assortment of tools, like a sylist. Larry burst in after him, wearing a propeller cap and suspenders. He was sucking on a lollipop. "Look what we have here."

He gazed around the small room, at Sashi, Boone and Penn. Sashi immediately raised her fists up in defence, but Penn batted them down. "Rippen," He growled.

"Penn Zero."

"Larry!" Larry cried out. He looked around at the blank faces around him, and shrugged. "What? Are we, like, are we not playing that game?"

Rippen smacked his hand against his head. "Larry, what did I say about talking?"

"Sorry Rippen," Larry pouted, but immediately brightens up again. "But this is just too darn exciting! And what am I supposed to be? A 1980s pop star?" He strikes a pose and nearly drops his lollipop. Rippen sighs.

"You're supposed to be my son! Now, can you just listen to me and stop talking for a second?!" He shouts. While he and Larry argued, Sashi walked sullenly out of the room. Boone seemed engaged in the argument, and sits back to watch with a bucket of popcorn to watch. Penn however, noticed Sashi, and followed her out. He found her leaning against the wall of the hallway, her arms crossed.

"Sashi, it wasn't your fault. We should've known that you can't wear heels." Hesitantly, he puts his arm on Sashi's shoulder, and then jerks back, as if unsure whether or not she was going to attack him. Seeing that she still hasn't moved, he put his hand back. "Besides, you don't know you failed."

"It's not like that, Penn," She sighed. "Every time something like this happens, I mess up the mission. I can't be one of them. I just can't!" Penn seemed confused for a second, but realized that "them" stood for the girls outside in the pageant.

"But you don't have to be!" He threw his arms up in frustration. Sashi looked at him warily, her eyes starting to brim with tears. "Who was it that said we should always be ourselves? Because it's what inside that counts?"

Sashi nodded and blinked away the tears. "You're right, Penn. I can do this."

In that instant, the PA system came on again. "The girl to be eliminated this round is…"

Sashi and Penn held their breaths in anticipation, and even the argument inside the room stopped for a moment to listen to the news.

"… Olivia Xu." They stood stock still for a moment before realizing that that's Sashi's cover name.

"You lose!" Cackled Rippen, running out of the room. "You finally lose! And I'm a full-time villain!" He grabbed Larry into an awkward hug and laughed in Penn's face. "Finally! The part-time hero loses! I win! I win!"

"Shh, I'm listening!" Boone said. Rippen stopped talking to listen to the new announcement.

"This year, we will select a wild card contestant to enter the next round. That winner is… Olivia Xu!"

Rippen remained motionless, his face frowning. Penn suddenly smiled.

"Yes! We still have another chance!" Sashi shrieked, and grabbed Penn into a hug. They drew apart from each other almost immediately, and coughed, embarrassed.

"Ugh, yeah. Another chance." Penn said in a low voice. Rippen was still frozen.

"Wait…" Penn started smiling again. "Rippen, that means you haven't won yet!"

But he didn't frown. Instead, he broke into a large grin. "Oh, but you will lose. Unfortunately, the next event will have you stumped."

On cue, the PA started again. By now, they were getting tired of the interruptions. "Hey…" Penn narrowed his eyes. "How do you know what the next event is?"

Rippen laughed maliciously. "Because I organized it."

"The next event, Couples Dancing, will begin tomorrow at 2:00 PM. Good luck, girls!"

"Come on, Larry. We're leaving." Rippen started walking, only to realize that Larry was still talking to Boone. And laughing. "LARRY! DO NOT FRATERNIZE WITH THE ENEMY!"

"Coming, Rippen!" Larry called out, and bounced after Rippen, sucking on his lollipop.

Penn and Sashi looked at each other. And Boone showed up too. One word sums it all up.

"Uh, oh."


	4. The Spy

"Couples dancing? What's that?" Boone asked. Sashi started walking down the hall, and Penn was torn between going after her and staying with Boone. In the end, he stood with Boone.

"It's dancing. With two people."

Boone rolled his eyes. "I knew that. I meant, who's going to dance with Sashi?"

"I don't know."

Boone's mouth hung open. "What? We need at plan, here!"

Penn darted his eyes around. "You know what? Let's just go spy on the robot."

"But first," Boone interrupted, "You won't believe the random picture I got."

One look into Boone's camera was enough to send Penn into a laughing fit. "Perfect timing, Boone. Perfect timing."

Rippen suspended in midair, his arms waving above his head, in the middle of announcing his triumph. Perfect indeed.

"Boone," Penn said, fist-bumping Boone, "You have a gift."

"So, you know where the robot's staying?" Boone said awkwardly.

"Nope."

…

"Boone, I don't get it. I just don't get it. How is it that you got that girl's number and not me?" Penn groaned, crouching behind a potted plant. Boone shushed him. He was standing in front of the robot's door, camera in hand.

"Dude, who's the one in a janitor's uniform?" Penn looked down at his clothes. Great. He forgot to change.

"Shh! She's coming out!"

The robot was slowly opening the door. She was wearing a tank top and jeans, and holding a can of oil to her mouth. Well, robots need to live.

"A reporter!" She warbled. Her speech was slow and warped, like a bad digital recording. She looked left and right before taking another hesitant step, her foot poised in midair before coming down.

Boone pretended to snap a picture of her, and she instinctively posed. Behind her, Penn sneaked into her room.

It was fairly standard, with a mirror cabinet, a bed, a chair beside a desk, and a computer on the desk. He went for the computer. As soon as he started it, it asked him for a password. He racked his brain for something that Rippen would use as a password.

Rippen. _Beep. _Nope.

Larry. _Beep._

School. _Beep._

Art. _Beep._

Mentally he wanted the computer to quiet down. He looked over his shoulder, and realized with horror that he forgot to close the door. Boone was waving at his wildly to get out of there. In a last frantic attempt, he typed in his own name.

Penn Zero. _Ding._

The robot was walking back into the room.

He dived out of the way and under the bed. She immediately sat down at the computer and inserted a disk from the shelf. The computer whirled, and she stuck her finger into the usb port. A file popped up onscreen, and Penn realized that it was the programming for the dance routine. He squinted at a name on the file. Larry? Larry was going to dance with her?

As he inched forward, he prayed that he wouldn't accidentally hit anything. Surprisingly, he made it past her without the robot noticing him.

As he regrouped with Boone outside, he told him what he had seen.

Boone nodded in an uncharacteristically solemn way. "Sashi still needs a partner."

…

He spotted Sashi on a bench as he was walking back to the room. He nodded at Boone quickly and raced over to her.

"Sashi! Sashi!"

She looked over at him, but her face was devoid of emotion.

"Sashi, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Penn," she said, her accent thicker than usual.

Penn stopped in his tracks. "There's something wrong. Spill it."

She sighed. "Fine. I can't dance."

"That it?"

"That's it."

Penn shook his head. "Come on! Where's the brave and fearless Sashi I know?"

"In an alternate dimension. Working at Fish Stick on a Stick."

"Sash, come on! We have until tomorrow to figure this out."

Finally, Sashi smiled. "We?"

Penn immediately clammed up.

"You said we. That means I have a dance partner, right?" She teased lightly, but the strain in her voice was acute.

Penn groaned inwardly. "Curse you and your AP classes."

"Precisely."


	5. The Argument

**Countdown till 2:00 tomorrow begins! From now on, the chapter titles will be how many hours left until the end of this mission. Sigh. Can't believe this story's drawing to a close.**

6:00. 20 hours left…

Sashi and Boone were standing around, arguing over who's going to go get dinner.

"I'm the one who's actually entered in this pageant, so I should go!" Sashi yelled.

"I have better taste in food!"

"You mean you taste the food. You never leave any for us!"

"You need to practice for your big _dance _duet. I should go!" Boone mocked.

"Why you – " Sashi lunged for Boone, but Penn blocked her way.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, guys! We could just order takeout!" He screamed, but that didn't stop Sashi from side-stepping Penn and going for Boone. "Sashi! What's gotten into you?"

She stopped and slowly unclenched her fists. "You're right, Penn. Let's just order takeout."

…

6:20.

"Mmm. These hot dogs are delish!" Boone exclaimed, stuffing another in his mouth.

"Those are pigs-in-a-blankets, not hot dogs," Sashi said slowly, chewing slowly on hers. She didn't have much appetite.

Penn didn't notice. He obviously thought Chinese was the best thing in the world as well, and was chowing down eagerly.

She looked down at her dress, at her heels and twirled a lock of her hair. What _is _wrong with her? She's gotten more violent. Much more violent. And since when did Sashi walk away from troubles?

"Penn, I'm going to destroy that robot," She finally said after eating one whole pig-in-a-blanket.

Penn, alarmed, immediately turned towards her. "What? Sashi, you can't destroy the robot!"

"Why not?" She shrugged. "It's just a robot."

"You can't destroy it," he said, deadpanned.

"Yes I can."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can! Why not? I didn't even have to be in this pageant anyways. All we have to do is destroy that thing, and all will be done. We could've been done hours ago!"

Penn shook his head hard. "Sashi, check the specs."

"But – "

"Sashi, just check the specs," he stated harshly. Sashi clicked on the glasses again and reread everything.

"Ohh…" Apparantly the robot can also be activated if it's harmed.

"See? You can't destroy the robot. Don't you think we would've already figured out a way if we could?"

Sashi shook her head. "We can still reprogram it. Why not just hack into the computer?"

All eyes turned to Boone. He looked up briefly from his plate to shake his head. "Too late. Penn and I saw it get the file."

Sashi groaned. "Now how are we supposed to do this?!"

"We can still override the system," Penn suggested.

Boone nodded. "I can try that. You'll have to give me time. We don't have superpowers in this world."

Penn struck a pose. "Yeah. I wonder when the next superhero adventure will be."

"Guys! Focus! Boone, you can override the system?" Sashi yelled.

"Yeah. But I need time. It might not even be done by the competition."

Sashi put her hand over her forehead. "When this is over, I'm requesting a vacation. Penn, you know how to dance, right?"

"Yeah. You? Oh, right…" He smiled weakly. "I can teach you," He offered.

"Sure. Let's get this over with." Sashi moaned, punching Boone on the arm. "And that's for sleeping when you should be hacking!"

"Hey!" Boone protested. "A guy needs his beauty sleep!"

"Heh. Funny. Then you should be competing," Sashi said dryly, and walked off with Penn to the practice room.


	6. The Day

7:30, 18 hours and 30 minutes left.

"Is this how it goes?" Sashi asked, with her hands on Penn's shoulders warily, glancing over at Boone. He shook his head, his pink hair flipping ridiculously.

"No, no, no, no, no!" He grumbles, throwing his hands up in frustration. "No! Sashi, just work with me here. I can't do this if you won't!"

Sashi stops and puts her hands at her waist. "Boone, we've been here for half an hour and we haven't gotten past the 'posture'. Cut it out, will you, and teach us an _actual _dance!" Her voice was full of venom as she glared daggers at Boone.

Stepping back cautiously, he started the music again. "Okay. Here's what you do. And 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…"

He began dancing around with an imaginary partner, looking solemn yet stupid with his arms jutted out in front of him. He looked like Elvis with a bucket of paint dumped on his head.

Still, Sashi paid rapt attention. The less time she was here, the better.

"And 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…"

…

**And finally, 2:00!**

Sashi was sweating in her dress. Sure, it looked fine, blending in, but seriously. Couldn't Phyllis have sprung for a less glamourous, lighter dress that actually complements the weather? Which was, as it turns out, steadily approaching body temperature?

"Sashi, are you ready?" Penn said, bouncing up and down, trying to burn off excess energy. He felt like throwing up, but he didn't. Mainly because he'd still have to clean it up. He was dressed in a smart suit with a red tie, instead of his uniform, but by the way the stage director was looking at him, he didn't like his chances if someone actually _did _throw up.

Sashi kept staring straight ahead, as if there was something interesting on the back of the curtain.

"Sashi? Sash? Earth to Sashi?" Penn said, waving his hand in front of her face.

She finally snapped out of it, her eyes wide. "What? Are we going on?" She asked frantically.

"No, not yet," Penn soothed. "Soon, though."

Sucking in a big breath, she gulped. "Yeah. Okay. I'm fine. Nothing is wrong. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine…" She started chanting, staring back at the curtain.

Penn gaped at her. Well, different people handle stress differently. Speaking of that, Penn wondered, how many donuts has Boone gone through?

His thinking was interrupted by a smattering of applause from outside. He pulled back a layer of curtain to see a ballet dancer and her partner bow and walk off the stage.

"And now, let's welcome Olivia Jing and her partner, dancing the tango, to the stage!"

There was polite applause as backstage, Penn dashed to drag Sashi out. She came to and started walking by herself, shaking off Penn's hand.

"Let's do this," She whispered fiercely.

They stepped out on the stage. Penn was aware of the large crowd of people watching them. He easily picked out Boone's ridiculous hairdo, and Rippen standing by the side, lecturing Larry. He stepped into his position, and waited.

The music started with a flourish; as in a crack and buzz as the CD cracked. Sashi looked at him with wide eyes, and began to falter. Suddenly, the music cuts in from the very beginning. Immediately, their routine started.

_1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, _Sashi thought as she bounded across the stage and reached Penn. _Okay, step left, right, forward, back, left, right forward, back. _She clasped her hand with Penn's and spun, him spinning her.

_1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, turn here, step back. _Sashi continued her silent dance, perfectly in sync with her partner. _Run across the stage, and jump! _She executed a flying jump, landing hard, her heel nearly going into the stage's soft wood panels. She winced, and continued. _1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3…_

Penn caught her yet again, she gazed into his eyes as the repetitive portion started. _Just 1, 2, 3 over and over again. I can do this. _

They flowed nicely with the music, and as Sashi tossed her head back, she noticed Rippen pointing at her. With growing alarm, she broke the routine for a slight second and whispered in Penn's ear. "Penn, look out. Rippen."

Finally, she arrived at the end of the dance. _Okay, dip now. Step here, here, and – _

Without warning, Penn dipped her early, nearly causing her to shriek. Something whipped past her head: a bronze metal hairclip –

A knife.

Thinking that was planned, the judges began clapping, louder and louder. The audience joined in, giving them a standing ovation. None of them seemed to notice the knife, now imbedded in a wall at the edge of the stage. She breathed hard, standing on her own feet again. She gave a bow, her legs shaking. Then she quickly walked backstage, with Penn racing after her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his eyes open wide. He put his hand to the back of his head. "I saw it coming, so I had to try to help. It was aimed for your head."

She nodded numbly. "Yeah. It's fine. It's fine." She shifted and sat on her hands to prevent them from shaking.

"We'll just wait and see the results now, huh?"


	7. The End?

_Zzaaaaappppppp! _Penn and his friends finally stood back on the teleporter in the theater again.

"Ah! Finally! Home!" Penn breathed, throwing his hands up.

"Yeah," Sashi agreed. "Home." She turned to Boone. "I still can't believe that 'true love's kiss' worked. And since when did robots have true loves?"

His face turned the color of a tomato. "It wasn't a kiss. More of a peck," He mumbled.

"Oh please! That was so a kiss!" Penn guffawed.

"I did what I had to, okay?" Boone shot back. "She did explode."

"Yeah, with happiness," Sashi snickered.

"Let's just put the past behind us, or should I even mention who got their foot stuck in his own bucket during the final chase?" Boone huffed.

Penn threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay, Boone. You win. We won't mention it again. Besides, how was I supposed to know she goes berserk if she doesn't win?"

"You don't. But you should've trusted Sashi to win."

"She didn't want to win!"

"Not wanting to win and not winning are two very different things!"

Sashi shook her head in fake disgust. "Boys."

She began walking out the door, and Penn chased after her. He stuck his hand inside his pocket and touched the MUHU. _Okay. Here goes._

"Um, Sashi?" He called out. She turned back with a flick of her pigtails. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Would you, um, would you mind going to the, uh, movies… With me? Tomorrow?" He stammered, feeling a blush coming on.

Sashi raised her eyebrows, but cracked a smile. "Yeah, sure."

And with that, she stalked out the theater.

"So, movies, huh? What're we watching?" Boone prodded, nudging Penn on the shoulder.

"Not 'we', Boone. Me and Sashi," He explained.

"Oh," Boone said, feeling hurt. Then, his face expanded into a huge grin. "_Ohhhhhhhhh…_"

"Boone!"

….

"_So? Did you ask her yet?" _His mom called from the MUHU, sitting on a rock with his dad.

"Mom!" Penn whined. "And yes. I did."

"_And what did she say?" _His dad commented, as spikes suddenly started growing out of the rock.

"She said yes, okay?" He confirmed, smiling sheepishly.

"_That's my boy. Now, go to the movies, and have a great time," _His mom said, jumping off the now living rock, holding hands with his dad. "_Got to go! Have fun, and we'll be back home in no time!"_

The MUHU clicked off, and he was left sitting in his room. He edged over to the window and looked out in the vague direction of Sashi's house.

"Yeah," He whispered, smiling wistfully. "In no time."

**Okay, I am soooo not done with this yet. Stay tuned.**


	8. Perennial Sidekick

**Hey! I'm finally back. School's been busy, but I finally got around to continuing this fanfic. I've started a new story in this same strand, called:**

**Perennial Sidekick**

**Enjoy!**

His arms laden with books, Penn stumbled home, dreading and anticipating the weekend.

Somehow, Phyllis has figured out how to send them on day-long missions, and that beauty pageant fiasco was just the beginning. The next week had been undercover as the three blind mice, then into the kingdom of the fay, then back into man-eating burrito world…

He barely had time to catch up on his homework. The good thing was, Rippen's been exhausted as well. He's been stuck there with them the entire time while they were on their missions, and turns out, teachers tire more easily than the students. He smirked as he remembered last week's, ah, shall we say, _incident. _Rippen's face was purple for a week.

He readjusted his grip on the books and strode forward, only to trip over his laces. He fell with a thud, his books scattering all over the sidewalk. He groaned and rubbed his sore knee and picked up his books.

"Part-time heroes should get special benefits in school," he grumbled under his breath.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Boone said, huffing from a mad one-block dash from school, where Penn had taken off early without him. "I almost fell asleep in last period today!"

"Last period was gym!" Penn shot back eagerly, happy to start a rally. He'd been bored all week, since he couldn't exactly insult Rippen on school grounds.

Boone met his gaze with an exaggerated pout. "What? Laps make me sleepy!"

The two teens laughed it off and made their way home.

"I wonder what ridiculous form Sashi's taking this time," Boone wondered.

"Yeah. She always seems to be getting the short end of the straw."

"More like the back end."

"Nah, that's Rippen."

They burst into peels of laughter, and Penn almost dropped his books again.

"Speak of the devil," He muttered under his breath crossly, but in truth, he was happy. Finally! Some banter!

He walked right past the art teacher, and looked right into the unsmiling face of Rippen.

"Ah, Rippen. Back from work early, I see? Glad to see your sunny disposition, as always."

He scowled. "Your little _antics _are getting old. Don't you people have a day off?"

"Don't you?" Penn retorted. "The balance of the multiverse probably wouldn't be at stake if you weren't messing it up!"

"With all due respect, Penn Zero, which is none at all, I'll do as I please, and it will please me to destroy you."

"Someday, Rippen, but time will probably do a better job than you," The red-haired boy taunted, watching Rippen's face grow red with fury.

"I will destroy you, and all the Zeroes, and your little friends," He glanced malevolently at Boone, "won't be around to protect you."

With that, he sauntered off, walking with his head held high and chin up.

Penn shook his head sadly. "Boone, let's just be glad you, me and Sashi stick together."

He nodded so vigorously that his hat fell into a puddle.


	9. A New Zap

ZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPPP!

Penn was wearing a gray shirt with black jeans, with boots and a beat-up old cap covering a mop of red hair. Boone looked about the same, though he was bald and didn't wear a hat. His flip flops were still there, but a pair of boots stood nearby. Penn gestured to them, and Boone grudgingly put them on instead of the flip flops.

Sashi, however, was nowhere to be seen. Confused, Penn looked around, but she didn't seem to be anywhere around. Then, something peculiar happened. He heard a buzz from the MUHU.

Boone frowned. "That can't be right," He said, reaching for the device. Penn batted his hand away and pulled it out of his pants pocket. He expected to see that it was his parents calling him, but instead, the MUHU showed the grim face of Sashi.

"Sashi!" He exclaimed, holding the hologram so it projects onto even ground. "Where are you?"

He couldn't see very much of the background, but he could tell Sashi wasn't wearing her usual clothes. She was decked out in a fancy sleek suit, with gadgets looped around her waist and an ammo belt slung across her shoulders. Her hair was tied in a tight ponytail, and she had a thick white choker around her neck. She looked uneasy, as if she had somewhere to be.

"Penn, I can't talk for long, but I'm not on your mission."

"What do you mean you're not on our mission?"

She fidgeted with her belt and looked warily over her shoulder. "I'm not. Look in your pockets; you should have the specs."

"What do you mean you're not on our mission?" He repeated again, looking at Boone. He shrugged, looking back at Penn.

"Look. I'm somewhere else, okay? I'll meet you in the Odyssey after work tomorrow," She snapped. Just before she ended the call, though, he heard something that made his already straight hair stand on end. "I hope," She whispered, just loud enough to hear, and the MUHU switched off, leaving Penn in the silence filled with Boone's loud breathing.

"Well, that was ominous," Boone finally remarked, dusting off his pants. "But we should get on with the mission."

Penn took a shuddering breath, then another, and finally dug the specs out of his pockets. He rubbed it with his sleeve and put it on. Immediately, he was bombarded with a multitude of colours and shapes. "Whoa," He said simply as the pictures jumbled his vision.

It took a while, but he finally found the specifics of the mission. "Boone, we have to –"

He paused, and Boone started shaking him by the shoulders. "What? WHAT? DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING! WHAT?" He screamed in Penn's ear. Penn fought him off and stood farther away, fully aware of the danger now.

"We have to steal a magic rock from a magician."

"Steal?" Boone echoed, suddenly looking behind him.

"Steal," Penn confimed. "I don't know why, but we have to get there before Rippen."

Boone shrugged. "Fine by me."

_But it's not, _Penn wanted to say. _Sashi should be here. _They both looked towards the spot where she would've stood, and he knew that Boone was thinking the same thing. Which prompted a new question, one more urgent than the magician's rock.

Where _is _Sashi?


	10. A New View

"Check the spectacles, Larry."

A hologram appeared in front of Rippen and Larry, who were dressed in long, purple robes and squishy wizards' caps. Larry had a long beard that was longer than he was tall, and he kept petting it, as if it were a pet.

"Our mission is to protect this magic rock so we can save all the magic in the world…" His voice trails off as he takes off the spectacles and polishes them vigorously.

"Save?" Rippen repeated, scratching his head. "Why are we the ones saving the world?"

Larry shrugged. "I don't know," He murmered. "Maybe, maybe we're the secret magic police – "

"No."

"The magic bandits – "

"No."

"The dark magicians – "

"No. Wait, that one's not bad."

"You know, when I was drinking milk the other day, there was a little black speck in it, and I tried as hard as I could, but I couldn't get it out," Larry continued, "Maybe that speck was dust. Don't you just love dust bunnies? I have a room full of dust bunnies back home. Tony just loves rolling in it. Did I ever tell you about his little hat? I – "

"Argh! Larry! What's the point?" Rippen yelled, pulling his hair. "What have I said about stories?"

"Well, you said don't tell them, but that wasn't really a story, but a recount, and I really like math, and -"

"LARRY!"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Sashi, you need to get to Zero parents and use rope," Phyllis's voice floated over the earpiece. Sashi nodded resolutely, even though she knew mission control couldn't see her.

"So, Burning Mountain or Plains of Death. Which one would they be?" She thought out loud. She looked towards her paths. One path led to black, putrid-smelling marsh littered with bones and skulls. The other led to a hunk of rock that sprouted streams of fire instead of water.

"Fire, Death, Fire, Death – "

"Just make decision and move," Phyllis snapped. Sashi rolled her eyes and started walking towards the marsh.

"I saw that," Phyllis said. "No one rolls eyes at Phyllis unless they want to be stuck in dimension."

"Is that what Penn's parents did?" She retorted, picking up and skull and snapping of the jaw bone. _Hmm. Decent shank._

Phyllis finally went quiet, leaving Sashi alone to ponder her thoughts. She supposed she should've told Penn more over the MUHU, but she didn't want him to worry. Besides, as soon as she's done here, she can zap into his mission, finish it, and make it out in time for a nice family reunion. Boone's parents were already watching her progress from the Odyssey, probably munching on popcorn and laughing at Rippen's costume.

_If only my parents knew, _she pondered. _Then they could be proud of something besides my grades for once. _

A shrieking above her drew her attention away. She looked up at a nice view of the underside of a giant bird's talons, and soon she was airborne.

"Let go of me, you bird! The food chain is reversed!" she screamed, punching at the bird. It flew her up to a nest and dropped her among its eggs. To her horror, even the eggs towered over her.

"Sashi?" An incredulous voice greeted her. She whirled around to see Vonnie and Brock Zero, holding the broken shell of a dead chick.


	11. A New Revelation

A flicker in the shadows drew Penn's attention. He motioned for Boone to follow him, and they both crept forward stealthily, under the cover of darkness.

"He's around here somewhere," Penn whispered, "I can feel it."

The red-headed teen darted forward suddenly, and flattened himself against a wall. He motioned for Boone to follow him, and they stood in silence under the overhang.

Larry the magician trotted past them, whistling and munching on a biscuit.

Boone's mouth watered at the sight of food, but he shook it off.

"Does he have the stone?" Boone whispered once Larry had passed. Penn shook his head.

"The stone is Rippen's. It can't leave him. If we just follow Larry, we should be able to find him and steal the stone."

Boone shuddered. "I still can't see us stealing anything."

Penn agreed. It seemed strange that the heroes had to steal a stone… But he'd learned to not doubt the specs. Learned that lesson in Zombie world.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Larry strolled along, whistling softly. His long beard dragged on the ground behind him, and he petted it lovingly. His own magic stone, much less powerful than Rippen's, sat deep in his pocket. He had a hand over it.

Magic was great. You could do all sorts of things with it, but they had to be _good. _If the stone so much as _senses _evil, it will self-destruct, taking its owner out with it.

That part he chose not to mention to Rippen, what with all the "reverse-psychology" these days.

His stone suddenly grew warm, and his eyes narrowed. He started walking just a bit faster, and… _There it is! Footsteps! _Someone was following him.

Someone_s. _

"Cloak," He murmured under his breath, his fingers curling over the stone. It flashed once, briefly, and Larry was gone.

"ARGH!" Penn shouted, leaping out of the shadows. "Where did he go?"

Silence.

He glanced back. "Boone?"

Silence.

He grew nervous. "Come on, Boone. This isn't funny."

Silence.

He raced back, checking the corner where Boone once was. Nothing. He looked around wildly, fully panicking now.

"BOONE!" He called out. His voice echoed eerily off the walls of the alley, and he thought he heard a sigh, but it might have just been the wind.

He just had to accept it.

Boone was nowhere to be found.

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I promise for semi-regular updates from now on. I just really wanted to get back to Sashi.**


End file.
